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PM, Pope on different trajectories

Sat., Oct. 3, 2015

Re: The Pope's call to action, Editorial Sept. 27

Re: Even a celebrity Pope can only do so much, Sept. 27

The Pope's call to action, Editorial Sept. 27

Stephen Harper is religious. How does he respond to the Pope’s message to the U.S. Congress (a Harperesque body) and the UN basically to keep tar sand in the ground? Or is Harper’s religiosity merely a facade to get votes. Or is his greed greater than his religiosity?

Harper’s fight against environmentalist action is akin to an illogical fight not to fix one’s leaky roof. Of course, over time your house collapses. I wonder if a massive asteroid was targeting Earth if he would worry.

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Global warming is an immediate threat to earth as dangerous as the asteroid that forced dinosaur extinction. His fight against science and environmentalists is a most dangerous “ostrich effect,” a denial of facts. A campaign for the outmoded carbon-based economy instead of the inevitable green economy with its sustainable jobs.

His actions show that he is against all of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the China/U.S. agreement to limit greenhouse gases.

The Pope fights against poverty while Harper only works for the oligarchies, the 1 per cent. All of his actions strongly suggest that Harper is basically a puppet for big oil.

Voters should always view Mr. Harper’s proposals through the lens of who profits: you or corporate greed? You must vote.

Dr. Ed Shields, Neebing

It’s great to see the Star backing Pope Francis’ rebuke of us humans for destroying the planet. The Pope emphasized that human beings are physical entities and as such part of the natural environment in which we reside.

It’s a timely corrective to the notion, to which he alludes, that mankind is superior to nature and somehow transcends his physicality. We need air and water to live and they won’t do us any good if they’re scarce and contaminated.

Ian Scott, Toronto

When Pope Francis visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York, I watched with awe and joy to see representatives from the world’s major religions joining together to ask and prayer for peace among all peoples of this world and to respect all mankind. To see a rabbi praying with an imam was truly inspiring.

What a contrast to those dividers of Canadians, Stephen Harper and Gilles Duceppe. During the French language debate they were trying to sow dissent among our people over the unimportant issue of the wearing of the niqab at an immigration ceremony just to garner votes.

Richard Salter, Burlington

The Pope’s visit to the United States is certainly newsworthy, but I have been struck by the lack of critical discussion about the terrible institution this man represents. His public personality aside, this is the leader of a church infamous for its continued homophobia, misogyny and opposition to condom use in spite of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, among other things. And people who like to think of themselves as “progressive” shouldn’t forget that for one second.

Ben More, Port Hope

Even a celebrity Pope can only do so much, Sept. 27

In his inimitable style Vinay Menon has crafted this insightful piece on Pope Francis who is unleashing his humble, good-natured but shrewdly constructed charm offensive by which he strives to make an appreciable difference in the world on many key fronts.

The more Pope Francis appears to shun power, fame and limelight, the more he is regarded as a superstar. The adulation he receives from atheists to awestruck youth, and from conservative Republicans to socially concerned Catholics, is proof of an unprecedented vote of confidence in this simple affable man of God, who walks the talk.

Menon raises a key point that many may have missed, especially given the euphoria surrounding Pope Francis’ tour de force – which is the support he needs to receive from the Catholic church – “one of the most inflexible institutions in the world.” Hopefully, the Pope can now better harness the wind beneath his wings to reshape and redirect the church he leads.

Although we have seen how deeply Pope Francis has impacted minds and hearts in the U.S., Cuba and even at the UN, he knows that he will need to win the support of the influential conservative wing of the Catholic church. This may well be his most challenging task.

Hopefully, the global winds of change led by Pope Francis will result in an united and humble church that exemplifies the life of Jesus Christ who was born in a humble manger, lived a simple life of service to the marginalized and accepted a painful death on the cross to save others. Amen.

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